ELEMENTS OF A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

ELEMENTS OF A NUCLEAR REACTOR BY- 53- Abhishek Maurya55- Ken Prakash56- Shivam Sharan57- Ravi Shankar59- Durgesh AnkurDiagram of a nuclear power plant.

2Fuel rodsFuel rods contain 3% U-235 in metal cylinders.

Uranium is enriched i.e. Natural Uranium undergoes a process called Enrichment.

3

EnrichmentBefore this uranium is used in a reactor, it must be enriched.Enriching the uranium increases the amount of uranium-235 that is in the sample.Uranium-235 is what will be used in most reactors.

Moderatorslows the neutrons down so the uranium fuel can capture them more efficientlyUsually water, but may be heavy water or graphite.

5Fuel rods contain the 3% U-235 in metal cylinders. Moderator slows down ns so they can be captured more effectively. Water is often used. Graphite was used in the Chernobyl plant.Control rods absorb neutrons to regulate (control) the power level.Coolant extracts the heat generated by fission to create power (electricity).

A failure here would not result in a bomb, but it would lead to extreme T capable of melting the core as in TMI where 50% of the core melted.So how do we control it?Control rods: control the fission process with cadmium, hafnium or boron rods that absorb neutrons to prevent these neutrons from splitting more uranium.can be moved into the reactor core to slow down fission, or removed to speed it up.

CoolantWater is circulated through the reactors core to absorb heat.In light water reactors the water moderator functions also as primary coolant.The extra heat could cause the fuel rods and other materials in the core to melt, which would release radiation into the environment.

7Fuel rods contain the 3% U-235 in metal cylinders. Moderator slows down ns so they can be captured more effectively. Water is often used. Graphite was used in the Chernobyl plant.Control rods absorb neutrons to regulate (control) the power level.Coolant extracts the heat generated by fission to create power (electricity).

A failure here would not result in a bomb, but it would lead to extreme T capable of melting the core as in TMI where 50% of the core melted.

Containment StructureAcontainment building, in its most common usage, is a reinforced steel orleadstructure enclosing anuclear reactor.

It is designed, in any emergency, to contain the escape ofradiationto a maximum pressure in the range of 40 to 80 psi ( 410 to 1400 kPa).

The containment is the fourth and final barrier toradioactive release, the first being the fuelceramicitself, the second being the metal fuel cladding tubes, the third being thereactor vesselandcoolantsystem.Melt DownA core melt accident occurs when the heat generated by a nuclear reactor exceeds the heat removed by the cooling systems to the point where at least one nuclear fuel element exceeds itsmelting point.

A partial melt down occurred at Three Mile Island (in Pennsylvania) on 28th March 1979